South Asia

In the aftermath of the devastating 9/11 terrorist attacks in the United States, terrorist groups and networks are now exploring new means to cause greater destruction and disruption for the purpose of capturing world attention and news coverage.

If Abdullah’s decision to withdraw from a second round of voting holds, President Obama must then make a decision that will define his presidency. President Obama will have to take personal responsibility for the outcome of the war in Afghanistan, betting his historical reputation and second term on the outcome.

Pakistan is at an economic crossroads. The global financial crisis and the terrorist insurgency, coupled with long-term underfunding of the social sectors, reduced Pakistan's economic growth to 2 percent in 2008-2009. Rising food prices and electricity shortages have made economic problems a major focus for popular discontent. U.S.

In 1949, Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru donated an Indian elephant named Indira to the Ueno Zoo in Tokyo. He hoped that Indira would bring joy into the lives of Japanese children, still suffering from the aftermath of World War II. That gesture is typical of the exchanges between these two Asian nations.

The US is losing the war in Afghanistan, and we risk losing the gains we have made in Iraq, largely as a result of our own mistakes.   After eight years of war, the US is still seeking to learn how to address the problems of armed nation building.

No strategy for Afghanistan can be successful unless it answers the most basic question of going to war: can we win? The answer is yes, provided that victory is defined in realistic and practical terms.

In the nearly two decades since the end of absolute monarchy, Nepal has stumbled forward as a nominal democracy. Ethnic divisions, a Maoist insurgency, a royal massacre, and perennially unstable governments have continually dampened optimism about future progress. In the last year, the country has taken several promising, yet tenuous, steps forward.